Sound Sleep Guide

Posts Tagged ‘Sleep Apnea’

Sleep apnea occurs when you regularly stop breathing for ten seconds or longer during sleep, and is caused by a blockage or narrowing of the airways in your nose, mouth or throat. This stoppage can unknowingly occur hundreds of times a night. Sleep apnea is a very serious sleep disorder that requires immediate treatment. Because it is a progressive illness, the symptoms can worsen and eventually lead to other medical conditions that can be life threatening. If you have been diagnosed with this malady or suspect that you have it, then read on for more information on the options for treating sleep apnea and the possible side effects.

There are four basic approaches to apnea treatment, and they can be used in conjunction with one another. The simplest method involves changing the circumstances which may be causing the condition. The patient is advised to lose weight, quit smoking, avoid alcohol and sedative drugs, have a regular sleep schedule and try to sleep only on their side. The most common treatment option is using Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) in the upper airway to support and hold the airway open. This involves wearing a CPAP mask over the nose. The mask provides a supply of continuously flowing air via a flexible plastic hose from a CPAP machine. Studies have shown that when patients use CPAP, they not only slept better and were more alert during the day, but there were significant improvements in the size, shape and pumping action of their hearts.

The third apnea treatment option is the use of a dental splint to prevent the jaw and tongue from moving back and narrowing the airway. However, oral devices have not proved to be as effective as CPAP and the appliances can be uncomfortable. The fourth and most extreme form of treatment is surgery. This kind of procedure involves removal of the part of the soft palate that hangs down in the back of the throat, as well as the tonsils if present, and other soft tissue if it is felt to be excessive. This procedure is usually reserved for patients with severe sleep apnea.

Once you’ve been diagnosed with sleep apnea, it’s important that you pursue treatment immediately. It’s also important to follow your prescribed treatment faithfully. While wearing a dental splint or a CPAP mask may seem uncomfortable at first, you’ll soon get used to it. A few nights of discomfort will be worth it once you see how a good night of sleep improves your overall health. People who have undergone sleep apnea treatment have reported fewer headaches, clearer thinking, improved performance at work and better moods.

Getting immediate treatment for this sleep problem will improve your quality of life. Talk to your doctor if you’re having trouble with your treatment. He can suggest ways to make your care easier or help you to explore alternatives. His or her advice will make treating sleep apnea a simple part of your day that you can’t live without.

Sleep disorders can affect a individual’s day to day living. They do not go through the right sleep cycles and their day to day lives begin to be harmed from the deficiency of restful sleep. The conditions can be dangerous. A medical condition known as sleep apnea where the individual actually stops breathing when. It is very dangerous and life threatening if not treated properly. You don’t have to continue to suffering. Even in the event that snoring has become a problem, there are instruments to assist you get a quality nights sleep and feel well rested in the morning hours. Click here for more information:

Work Schedule Sleep Disorders with more helpful material at Insomnia In Children also head on over to Paxil And Insomnia

Sleep apnea is possibly the most commonly seen sleep disorder and affects in the region of 18,000,000 Americans. A sleeping disorder which is characterized by interrupted breathing while sleeping, it is also without doubt the most dangerous of all sleeping disorders because it starves the brain of critical oxygen and occasionally proves fatal.

There are two very different types of sleep apnea. Central sleep apnea is essentially a neurological condition in which breathing is broken because of signals sent out by the brain. Obstructive sleep apnea is essentially a mechanical problem where the windpipe is obstructed either by too much tissue or as a result of the unusual collapse or relaxation of the muscles around the windpipe. In both cases however the results are effectively the same with repeated interruptions to the breathing that starve the brain of oxygen and place sufferers at greater risk from such things as high blood pressure, stroke and heart attack.

Regrettably, diagnosing sleep apnea can be difficult because snoring, which is one of its commonest symptoms and frequently leads to sleep apnea being called the snoring disease, is also often seen as a symptom of various medical conditions. Snoring is certainly normally present with sleep apnea as the brain counters a lack of oxygen by awakening the sufferer sufficiently to restart breathing and this usually produces snoring.

This frequent awakening throughout the night also results in a poor quality of sleep and it is quite common for sleep apnea sufferers to get up in the morning feeling even more tired than they were when they went to bed. This also results in a feeling of sheer exhaustion during the course of the day and an overwhelming wish to sleep.

However, tiredness resulting from a poor quality of sleep is just part of the problem and a variety of other symptoms will also generally be seen including headaches in the morning, a lack of memory and a problem in maintaining concentration.

Left untreated the increasing exhaustion from sleep apnea can lead to major psychological difficulties starting with simple tetchiness and moving on to depression with clear changes in both mood and behavior.

Both obstructive sleep apnea and central sleep apnea can be treated and, provided the problem is diagnosed at an early stage, treatment can often be fairly simple. For instance, mild cases of obstructive sleep apnea caused by nasal congestion can generally be treated with nothing more than a course of decongestants. Likewise, many cases of sleep apnea which are not too serious may be treated with the use of a mask that is worn during sleep and that delivers air at a constant pressure in order to keep the airway open. Lastly, in the most severe cases surgery might be necessary and can be very effective, although it may also lead to numerous complications and must be considered with care.

Perhaps the most important thing to remember about sleep apnea is that because it carries the potential risk of respiratory failure sufferers ought not to be tempted to use sleeping pills or to take other types of artificial sleep enhancers without first seeking the approval of a doctor.

Natural sleep remedies can without doubt provide an effective complement to prescribed treatments and herbal remedies which are designed to improve both the duration and quality of sleep can be helpful in the management of the excessive daytime sleepiness often brought on by sleep apnea. Also, such things as chromatherapy, aromatherapy and guided relaxation and meditation can help in reducing the anxiety and insomnia that come with sleep apnea.

An ancient myth told of the plight of Undine, a nymph condemned to a life of sleeplessness out of fear she would stop breathing while asleep and die. Modern science calls it sleep apnea.

The ailment — an interruption of breathing during sleep — also is known as ”Undine’s Curse,” and it afflicts a large number of middle-aged, overweight men, many who unknowingly suffer the condition.

Sleep apnea goes all the way back to Greek mythology. We’re finally getting the upper hand on it by diagnosing those who didn’t even know they were affected.

The condition also has been diagnosed in infants who can be aroused from lapses in breathing by being shaken, an action that doctors say awakens the baby and forces the brain to message the lungs to begin functioning again. Sleep apnea in the case of infants is the cause of sudden infant death syndrome, for which there is no known cure.

The condition now is being diagnosed with the help of a computer and electrodes that monitor patients at home while they sleep. The computer, in use at several medical centres around the country, is among the most accurate of devices capable of monitoring the sometimes life-threatening disorder, Johns explained.

The system uses a mesh halter to which electrodes are fixed and stuck on the chests of patients to measure a series of vital functions, including the length of time between breaths.

The halter and electrodes are placed on the patient at the clinic and worn home. At night, while the patient sleeps, the electrodes are plugged into a small box that records the patient’s sleep patterns.

The system measures heart rate, lung function, oxygen saturation in the blood and paradoxing which is the opposite movement of chest and abdomen.

He said the monitoring box is brought back to the clinic the next morning, at which time the data collected during the night is fed into and analyzed by a computer.

If the patient is apneic, the computer might show decreased respiration during sleep, a decrease in heart rate and a desaturation of oxygen in the blood stream.

The operation is similar to a tonsilectomy and involves removal of tissue at the back of the throat, which enlarges air passages to enable unobstructed breathing. Other surgical methods also successfully treat sleep apnea caused by nasal deformity or nasal polyps.

The computerized diagnostic method also helps determine if the patient suffers from other types of sleeping and breathing disorders, primarily central nervous system dysfunction in which the brain is not telling the lungs and diaphragm to move.

Wake up happy! Discover the proven sleep apnea treatments that guarantee a healthy and restful sleep! To grab your free report go to Best Sleep Apnea Treatments